Connected computers are better! How’s it done?

Lawrence
Snyder

University
of
Washington,
Seattle


© Lawrence Snyder 2004

 Computers
are
useful
alone,
but
are
better

when
connected
(networked)

  Access
more
information
and
software
than
is

stored
locally

  Help
users
to
communicate,
exchange

information…changing
ideas
about
social

interaction

  Perform
other
services—printing,
Web,
email,

texting,
mobile,
etc.

Today’s Message: Internet is NOT really a bunch of tubes!

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 5

Networks
are
structured
differently
based

(mostly)
on
distance
between
computers:

  Local
area
network
(LAN)

▪  Small
area:
room
or
building

▪  Either
wired
(Cu
or
fiber)
or
wireless

  Wide
area
networks
(WAN)

▪  Large
area:
more
than
1
km

▪  Fiber‐optic,
copper
transmission
lines,
μ‐wave,
satellite



  Metropolitan
area
networks
(MAN)

▪  Neighborhood
or
several
blocks
of
business
district

▪  Private
service
provider
owns
network

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 6
 To
communicate
computers
need
to
know

how
to
set
up
the
info
to
be
sent
and

interpret
the
info
received

  Communication
rules
are
a
protocol

  Example
protocols

▪  EtherNet—for
physical
connection
in
a
LAN


▪  TCP/IP—for
Internet—transmission
control
protocol
/

internet
protocol

▪  HTTP—for
Web—hypertext
transfer
protocol


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 7

 EtherNet
is
a
popular
LAN
protocol

▪  It
uses
a
“party”
protocol

Connection to
campus
network Typical MGH or OUGL Lab
infrastructure

PC PC PC PC PC PC
Ether Net
Cable

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 8

 The
campus
subnetworks
interconnect

computers
of
the
UW
domain
which

connects
to
Internet
via
a
gateway

Switch

MGH
Homer
Gate
way
Dante

washington.edu Student CS Switch

All communication by TCP/IP

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 9

 Information
is
sent
across
the
Internet
using

IP—Cerf
uses
postcard
analogy

▪  Break
message
into
fixed
size
units

▪  Form
IP
packets
with
destination
address,
sequence

number
and
content
 addr # data
▪  Each
makes
its
way
separately
to
destination,
possibly

taking
different
routes

▪  
Reassembled
at
destination
forming
msg

Key Point: Taking separate routes lets packets by-
pass congestion and out-of-service switches; packet
reassembly discovers lost packets; ask for resend

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 10

   Two
videos
are
linked
from
the
calendar
…

please
check
them
out


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBWhzz_Gn10 http://www.vimeo.com/2696386

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 11

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 12
You can find such “trace route” facilities by Googling,
and then type in the IP-Addresses around the world
2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 13
  The
route


  Starts
with
my
ISP
moving
packet
through
MAN

  Next,
the
packet
enters
a
regional
WAN

  Next,
the
packet
crosses
the
backbone

  Arriving
at
another
regional
WAN

  Next
arriving
on
campus
in
a
LAN

  Delivered
to
the
destination
computer


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 14

  The
Watchtower

regional
network
of


Eastern
MA


  Every
state/region

has
one
or
a
few


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 15

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 16
  As
with
“wired
Ethernet,”
all
computers
in

range
can
hear
the
radio
signals
of
the
others

 People
name
computers
by
a
domain
name

  a
hierarchical
scheme
that
groups
like

computers

▪  .edu


All
educational
computers,
a
TLD

▪  .washington.edu


All
computers
at
UW

▪  dante.washington.edu

A
UW
computer

▪  .ischool.washington.edu


iSchool
computers

▪  .cs.washington.edu

CSE
computers

▪  spiff.cs.washington.edu


A
CSE
computer

Peers
Domains
begin
with
a
“dot”
and
get
“larger”
going
right


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 18

 Computers
are
named
by
IP
address,
four

numbers
in
the
range
0‐255

cse.washington.edu:
128.95.1.4

ischool.washington.edu:
128.208.100.150

  Remembering
IP
addresses
would
be
brutal
for

humans,
so
we
use
domains

  Computers
find
the
IP
address
for
a
domain

name
from
the
Domain
Name
System—an
IP

address‐book
computer


A
computer
needs
to
know
IP
address
of
DNS
server!

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 19
 .edu
.com
.mil
.gov
.org
.net
domains
are
“top

level
domains”
for
the
US

  Recently,
new
TLD
names
added

  Each
country
has
a
top
level
domain
name:

▪  .ca
(Canada)

▪  .es
(Spain)

Do
you
know
sites
like:

▪  .de
(Germany)
 bit.ly

▪  .au
(Australia)

 www.nba.tv

▪  .at
(Austria)
 del.icio.us

▪  .us
(US)
 …
they
exploit
TLDs


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 20

View
the
Internet
in
two
ways:

1.  Humans
see
a
hierarchy
of
domains
relating

computers—logical
network


2.  Computers
see
groups
of
four
number
IP
addresses—
physical
network

Both
are
ideal
for
the
“user's”
needs

  The
Domain
Name
System
(DNS)
relates
the

logical
network
to
the
physical
network
by

translating
domains
to
IP
addresses


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 21

  Many
people
mis‐use
the
terms
“Internet”

and
“World
Wide
Web”

  Let’s
get
them
right


Internet: all of the wires, fibers, switches,

routers etc. connecting named computers

Web: That part of the Internet —web servers

—that store info and serve Web pages and
provide other services to client computers

2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 22

  The
Web
and
much
of
the
Internet
services

use
the
client
server
form
of
interaction


  It’s
a
VERY
BRIEF
relationship


2/16/11 © 2011 Larry Snyder, CSE 23

  
Clients
and
servers
are
not
connected
–
they

only
exchange
info
…
“no
commitment
issues”


2/16/11 © 2011 Larry Snyder, CSE 24

Networking
changed
the
world

Internet:
named
computers
using
TCP/IP

WWW:
servers
providing
Web
pages

  Principles

▪  Logical
network
of
domain
names

▪  Physical
network
of
IP
addresses

▪  Protocols
rule:
LAN,
TCP/IP,
http...

▪  Domain
Name
System
connects
the
two

▪  Client/Server,
fleeting
relationship
on
WWW


2/16/11 © 2010 Larry Snyder, CSE 25